Pentagon anticipates $78 billion in budget cuts

Friday, January 7, 2011

By ANNE FLAHERTY and ANNE GEARAN ~ The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Thursday he will cut $78 billion from the Pentagon's budget in the next five years -- money that will come from shrinking the military's ground force, increasing health care premiums for troops and other politically unpopular cost-saving measures.

The plan also identifies a separate $100 billion in savings, including the cancellation of a $14 billion amphibious Marine vehicle. However, the services will be allowed to reinvest that money in new weapon systems and programs that benefit troops, he said.

The move is part of a broader effort to trim fat from the military's mammoth half-trillion annual budget in light of the nation's ballooning deficit.

"We are not exempt from scrutiny and being asked to figure out what we are doing with less dollars," Gates told reporters.

But parts of the plan are likely to run into serious opposition from Congress. Lawmakers have fought past proposals to increase health care premiums and cut weapons programs that produce jobs in their states.

At the same time, many newly elected lawmakers are tea party activists and anti-war Democrats say the Defense Department isn't doing enough to scale back.

The Defense Department represents the largest portion of the federal government's discretionary budget.

The final plan calls for $553 billion spent in 2012 -- $13 billion less than the Pentagon wanted, but still representing 3 percent in real growth.

Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he and the service chiefs are fully supportive of the plan.

Under pressure to rein in deficit spending, the White House has told the Defense Department it must cut $78 billion from its budget plan covering 2012 through 2016. Gates agreed, but insisted that topline reductions not happen until 2015 when presumably the war in Afghanistan will end.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said that it plans to take control of security in its country by the end of 2014.

After that, the plan would be to let go of 27,000 Army soldiers and up to 20,000 Marines to save as much as $6 billion.

Mullen called the reduction in force size modest and "well within the risk envelope."

Gates said he expects to save some $7 billion by reforming the military's health care system known as Tricare, including an increase to premiums paid by military families.